If you receive the message "you have not chosen any midi inputs /outputs" and your midi devices list in Edit > Preferences > Devices (or Options > MIDI Devices in legacy versions)  is empty, that usually means one of the following is true:

• You may not have any midi hardware installed on your system, or your hardware is not installed properly.
• You may be using an integrated sound card and need to tell SONAR Home Studio to use MME drivers. (see below for more about what an integrated sound card is)
• You may be using an audio interface or sound card that does not have any midi inputs or outputs.

If you are using an integrated sound card (a sound card built in your mother board and shipped with your computer) then you need to set SONAR Home Studio to use MME drivers. Here's how:

1. Go to the Options menu and choose Audio, then Advanced.
2. Switch the 'Driver Mode' setting to 'MME 32-bit'.
3. Click the Apply button and then click OK.
4. Finally click Options and then MIDI Devices.
5. You will have the 'Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth' as an available output. Checking this will allow you to play back the data stored in MIDI tracks.

If you are using an audio interface / sound card with out midi ports then you will want to refer to 'Tutorial 4 - Playing and Recording Software Instruments' This can be accessed in the SONAR Home Studio Help by clicking the Help menu and then choosing Help Topics . This will allow you to playback midi using software synthesizers.